Sheldon Lee threw six efficient innings and Zach Lucas went 3-for-4 with two runs Sunday as the Oneonta Outlaws took over fourth place in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League with a 6-2 victory over the visiting Cooperstown Hawkeyes at Damaschke Field.
The Outlaws (23-21) hold a half-game lead over Mohawk Valley (22-21) for the fourth and final PGCBL playoff spot with three games left in the regular season.
First-place Amsterdam (34-10) and second-place Newark (25-19) already clinched postseason berths, but four teams are battling for the last two.
Third-place Glens Falls (25-20) is the front-runner with a 1 1/2-game lead on the Outlaws, who are 11 games behind Amsterdam.
Fifth-place Mohawk Valley, which is 11 1/2 games out of first place, has three games left.
Sixth-place Albany (20-22, 13 games out) has four to go, including the completion of a suspended game against Cooperstown at 6 p.m. Tuesday that will precede a regularly scheduled game between the two teams. Albany will host both of those games.
Oneonta visits last-place Cooperstown (11-30) at 5 p.m. today at Doubleday Field, then hosts Newark in its regular-season home finale at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Admission to Tuesday night's game is free.
The Outlaws close their regular season at Glens Falls on Wednesday. The top four PGCBL teams will advance to the playoffs, which run Friday through Aug. 9.
On Sunday, PGCBL All-Star Lee (7-1) struck out four, walked three and allowed one earned run on seven hits in six innings. Clay Bates followed with two innings of relief, allowing one earned run on two hits, before Jeremy Rhoades struck out one in a 1-2-3 ninth inning to secure the victory.
The Outlaws scored six earned runs on eight hits off losing pitcher Raleigh Rushing (2-4), who struck out six and walked one in five innings. Hayden Elrod followed with three perfect innings of relief.
Oneonta took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a sacrifice fly by Zach Johnson and an RBI groundout by Shane Crain.
Logan Brown and Lucas had RBI singles in the second to make it 4-0, but Cooperstown designated hitter Colton Beatty hit an RBI single in the fourth to pull the Hawkeyes to 4-1.
Crain sparked a two-run fifth for the Outlaws with an RBI single that reloaded the bases for Sutton Whiting, who drove in Oneonta's final run when he was hit by a pitch.
Beatty capped the scoring in the seventh, when he came home on a throwing error by Oneonta second baseman Cory Hunt.
Pippin and Steven Kandborg had two hits apiece to pace Cooperstown.
Brown contributed two hits, two runs and an RBI for Oneonta.
Before Sunday's game started, the Outlaws and Oneonta Mayor Dick Miller received the Mayor's Cup trophy from Senator Jim Seward. The trophy, which was renamed the Seward Cup on Sunday, was awarded to the Outlaws for winning their regular-season series against the Hawkeyes.
SATURDAY'S GAMES
Glens Falls 12, Outlaws 5
Zac Johnson went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, but Oneonta lost a PGCBL game on the road Saturday.
Johnson's two-run double to left field capped a three-run fourth that pulled the Outlaws to 4-3.
The Golden Eagles, who scored four runs _ three earned _ against losing pitcher David Sosebee (4-2), followed with one earned run in the fourth and two more in the fifth against reliever Taylor Hicks to regain the momentum.
Glens Falls then scored five times against Nick Cioffi, who gave up six hits and three earned runs in his only inning of relief.
Golden Eagles starter Tayler Saucedo (4-3) struck out 10 in 6 2/3 innings for the pitching victory. He scattered five hits, allowed three runs _ two earned _ and walked two.
Cooperstown was scheduled to host Newark on Saturday, but their game was rained out. The two teams will not play a make-up game as they will not meet again this season.
